Chapter Two

Ayla’s POV

“I prefer treating other students than touching her. She’s cursed.”

A woman fumes near me.

My eyelids open slowly, I lift up my head but immediately set it down back from the throbbing pain.

“Shhh… she’s awake,” another says.

My hearing keeps getting wilder every day. It wasn’t like the other werewolves. Maybe I was really cursed.

“Now that you’re awake, can you rid yourself of this place?” the nurse says.

I lift my body gently but I’m surprised, I don’t feel any pain besides the headache. I rip the bandage round my torso and check my injury.

My head snaps to the nurse as I get to my feet.

“How long have I been here?”

She only stares at me like I carried the plague before storming out.

“A few hours,” the other lady says.

At least there are still people in this academy who don’t mind talking to me— I hear what she says again.

“I can’t possibly heal in a few hours, what happened to me?”

She only shrugs and hands me a bag before heading out.

“Wait…” I went after her – but she was gone.

I rummage through the bag to only find some of my clothes, my journal, and two other important possessions. The dagger had a crescent moon encrusted into it; it belonged to my father. The other is my mother’s ring.

They were the only two memories I have left of my parents.

The silhouette of a woman approaches me. I step back— clutching the bag to my chest and holding the dagger towards her.

By the time she appears closer, I see her full body frame and my eyes widens. The same woman from my dreams. The dagger I held dropped to the ground as I stepped backwards.

“Who are you and what do you want from me?” My voice trembled. Her presence made my blood boil and I felt my wolf growl inside of me.

“Easy there, little tiger. That’s not how to act to someone who saved you from the brink of death.”

“I’m Kiara,” she stretches her hand towards me.

“No!” I snapped.

“If you saved me, then why are you trying to poison me with the wolfsbane you’ve dipped your hands in?”

Her face lightens up and she begins clapping.

“You’re the only wolf who has noticed that. I guess it’s you then,” she whispers, and her eyes begin glowing a deep shade of purple.

Oh goddess— my day just keeps getting better.

“What are you?” I growled. My claws itched to come out but my heart is pounding too fast.

“I instructed you not to talk to her!” a deep voice snarls.

Kiara’s eyes immediately went back to their normal violet shade and I also felt some sort of relief, it was like she had some sort of spell over me.

“I was only checking if it was her,” she purrs.

The tall and muscular man strides towards me and grabs my bag. I can’t tell if he’s a wolf or something else because he’s masked his scent, but I know he definitely has some power.

“You’re coming with us.”

He throws the bag at me. I stumble in a bid to catch the bag.

“Why should I—“

Kiara snaps her thumb and middle finger, and for the second time that day, I black out.

***

By the time I gain consciousness, I’m in a strange room. It was empty except for my bag – I grabbed it and went through it. My dagger was gone.

My jaw twitched and I furled my fists tight.

Whoever took it is going to feel my wrath, but firstly, I need to get out of this room.

I shut my eyes and focus on my hearing, trying to understand where I am or just listen to conversations.

“If she’s the one, you’ll have to sacrifice her quickly. You’re running out of time.”

“Tonight or never.”

My eyes widen and my heart starts racing. I really hope I’m not the person he’s talking about. I try to focus again but my chest is beginning to ache. I linked with my wolf once more to heighten my senses but it led to nothing.

Something was wrong somewhere and I sensed danger.

The door slams open, bouncing against the wall and startling me. My body instantly jumps into fight or flight mode. I haven’t come this far to just lose like this.

“Follow me,” the muscular man says.

I want to tell him no— what makes him think he can throw commands at me? But if I am going to escape, I need to get out of this room first.

My teeth grind against each other as I follow him.

We walked through a room with high walls. It is very different from the academy, which didn’t have any beautiful architecture, but it was where I grew up comfortably. Golden moon crusts were embedded into the wall and several ancient writings of which I didn’t understand.

The middle of the room contained sculptures of wolves slaughtering night creatures. The only one I recognize is the basilisk; a deadly night serpent. Thank goddess they’re not real.

We stop in front of a large door.

“Wait here,” the man says.

I only nod, but the moment he enters, I glance around. When I see no one around, I run towards the exit, moving as light as my feet can carry.

I managed to find a door. It was open and empty. I turn to leave but my mind keeps pulling towards the room, like a magnet to iron— I finally entered.

The strong scent of that same male I don’t know fills the room. It had a huge bed, ceiling-to-floor burgundy curtains, and a sharp wood and spice scent. My wolf stirred.

I let my hand graze the wooden cupboard in the room… then I sensed it, there was something in there. My wolf instincts doubled and were instantly sharper— I heard footsteps coming and I immediately ran into the closet to hide, ensuring I held my breath as the huge stature strides in.

The scent hits me again— dark spice and wood. My wolf shudders inside me. It’s him. The stranger who saved me. The one my instincts crave.

He enters the room, and that’s when I see his face. He’s the man who handed me my bag at the infirmary. He had masked his scent then, so I couldn’t recognize him.

He begins taking off his shirt, and as much as I want to look away, I’m forced to stare. His upper body is perfectly sculpted; six abs were a common thing at the academy, but this man had eight, and they shone with sweat. I let out a breath when I saw his deep v-line.

He stopped in his tracks. He glances through the room until his gaze lands on the closet.

My pulse stops. He knows I’m here. Shit. I think I might be fucked.